Virtualbox with various Windows installations. I'd use Browserstack if I thought it was worth paying for but having all the VMs open at once makes testing seamless and super quick.

Plus this is what Modernizr is for.

Aside from various Javascript annoyances, anything past IE 9 is going to support most things you use and those that don't you plan ahead for. Most developers shouldn't need to do hands-on or screenshot testing until the very end of the development process.

+1 for Browserstack

VMs mostly (VMware currently, but VirtualBox is great as well). I found BrowserStack very slow and difficult to use when testing out complex interactions (this was 6 months or so ago so it may have improved since then). The same goes for SauceLabs. Between the two of them, I think BrowserStack has the better UI.

I use the IE9 VM for testing IE9 and below by using the compatibility mode switcher. I have separate ones for IE10 and IE11 because IE10 dropped support for conditional IE comments which are key for fixing rendering issues in earlier versions of IE.

I get my VMs for IE here: https://www.modern.ie/en-us/virtualization-tools (you can install any browser along with IE to test in a Windows environment as well).

For phones/tablets, I use emulators. The iOS emulator packaged with Xcode is great and does everything well. I've yet to find a good Android emulator. The one packaged with ADT is terrible.

Related: Ask DN: Internet Explorer testing methods

IE - Remote IE chrome, safari, firefox on mac and windows(virtualbox) finally, browserstack.

You might find real user reviews for Sauce Labs, Browserstack and all the other major cross-browser testing tools on IT Central Station to be helpful: https://www.itcentralstation.com/categories/functional-testing-tools/tzd/c278-sf-63.

As an example, this user writes in his review of Sauce Labs that he is "able to test on real devices in the cloud without having to manage the devices locally." You can read the rest of his review here: https://www.itcentralstation.com/product_reviews/sauce-labs-review-41567-by-jayson-smith/tzd/c278-sf-63.

Disclaimer: I work for TestingBot

Have any of you tried out TestingBot to do manual browser testing? We're focussing on speed to make testing as smooth as possible.

If anyone wants to try it out, please let me know and I'll send you a coupon for a 1-month free "Small Team" account

Browserstack has been in my experience the easiest and most complete solution. I can test local & remote in a huge variety of devices and browsers. I used to use VM, but it was more of a hassle

I guess the only thing you need is Modern IE.

I just let the customers complain then I fix.

I installed VMs via ievms

Virtualbox + modern.ie

VirtualBox with various IE installs. Free & easy to set up.

We use sauce labs as part of QA/testing process (mainly for automated testing), but it has the ability to do manual tests on a seemingly limitless combination of OSes and browsers, which makes it incredibly useful and well worth the money.

+1 for BrowserStack as well.

I also test a site on iPad, iPad mini, android and iPhone (real devices) before Go Live.

Unfortunately there are no shortcuts when it comes to QA'ing a site. Be as thorough as you can when testing as every site is different. If you put QA in a box then bugs can be missed.

For me at least, cross-browser testing has become a different problem, compared to what it used to be. IE has advanced far enough now that I don't need to do much (if any) testing for weird layout bugs.

Most of my cross browser testing relates to how things look and feel. For example, testing font rendering across Mac/Windows or testing animations etc. For that type of testing, I don't think there's currently any substitute for the real thing, which as it happens, is a bit of a pain in the hole.

For front-end browser tests, we use BrowserStack but after back-end development we do real device tests in our little lab. Also Selenium tests runs every hour.

But we're also looking for better ways.

Currently going through exactly the same dilemma. My preference is for BrowserStack but as we are developing on Laravel VirtualBox is the only reasonable way but it feels incredible archaic and slow.

We have set out a list of the browsers and software we are going to support as a first which is helping to keep focus.

Having said all this, some of the bugs that we found on VirtualBox and iOS simulators do not appear when tested on the physical devices so there's something to be said for that.

I've basically concluded: Physical devices: most accurate when testing specific models, most expensive Browserstack: best for general testing across huge and varied platforms Virtual Machines: Annoying as hell but very good for debugging the hell out of ie

¯_(ツ)_/¯